2017/2018 TV Series Breakdown: The CW

The Fall TV Season presentations for all the new network shows take place this week with the fifth and final one announced today. Here’s a full breakdown of which concepts have made the final list over on The CW.

The little network that could keeps sticking with shows to give them a chance, even as the surge of ratings many of them had at launch has dwindled, while the creative elements of some of its DC series has come under fire – “The Flash” and “Supergirl” both fizzled this season, whereas “Arrow” and “Legends of Tomorrow” had a bit of a resurgence.

WIth “The Vampire Diaries” gone, the network is shuffling around various timeslots to offer some theme nights – Mondays are inspirational fare, Tuesdays for upbeat superhero action, Wednesdays are the soaps, Thursdays are the darker dramas, Fridays the quirky female-led dramas.

Four new series have been ordered, here’s what’s in store:

NEW SERIES

Black Lightning(Retired Superhero Drama, Mid-Season)
Jefferson Pierce is a man wrestling with a secret. Nine years ago, Pierce was gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, which he used to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life and his family on the line, he left his Super Hero days behind.

Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, Black Lightning returns – to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.

Dynasty(Lavish Soap, 9pm Wednesdays)
Fallon Carrington is charismatic, cunning, and poised to become the new COO of her father’s global energy empire – or so she thinks. When her father, Blake Carrington, summons Fallon and her brother, Steven, home in Atlanta, Fallon is horrified to learn that the reunion isn’t to announce her promotion – but rather to make the acquaintance of their stepmother-to-be, Cristal. Family dynasties flow through blood, and Fallon would sooner draw blood than call Cristal “Mom.”

Life Sentence(Life Dramedy, Mid-Season)
Stella has spent the last eight years living like she was dying (because she was). But when she finds out that her cancer has been cured, she is suddenly forced to face the long-term consequences of the ‘live in the moment’ decisions she made.

With a real future suddenly in front of her, Stella’s cinematic life snaps into reality, and instead of living like she’s dying, she will have to learn to live like she’s living, and help her family and friends do the same.

Valor(Military Drama, 9pm Mondays)
An elite unit of U.S. Army helicopter pilots called the Shadow Raiders are sent on a top secret mission that goes terribly awry. Only two members of the team return safely: Warrant Officer Nora Madani and her commanding officer, Captain Leland Gallo. Nora and Gallo grow closer, and soon find themselves torn between duty, honor and desire.